


Wait until it's over

by byzinha



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-12
Updated: 2015-08-09
Packaged: 2018-02-08 13:31:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 15,360
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1942977
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byzinha/pseuds/byzinha
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>If everything else was chaos in her life, he was her lull.</p><p>Teen Wolf is not mine.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Mate

**Author's Note:**

> This was previously posted on FF.net (under my user Byzinha Lestrange), but now that I'm here, might as well share with my fellow AO3 friends. Hope you guys like the fic ^^

**Wait until it's over  
** Teen Wolf fanfiction ****  


" _And if I shout to you, never doubt,_  
 _don't turn around too soon._  
 _Just wait until it's over, wait until it's through._ "  
It's never over (Oh Orpheus), Arcade Fire

**1\. Mate**

If everything else was chaos in her life, he was her lull. When she was with him, she wasn't someone's daughter or someone else's daughter or some other one's cousin: she was his girl and he was dedicated to her.

Sure they met when they were broken and sure they didn't start what some can call "the right way". But she had spent so long in animal form, she didn't know much about the human way of mating. In the woods, if you find the potential mate, you make sure to seduce and procreate right away; and when she realized how alike they were – the guilt, the loyalty, the humor, the ghosts (besides the fact that, well, he  _was_  hot) – she decided. That's it. I finally found my mate.

She particularly liked the way he traced her features and the feeling of his touch in her spine, the way he moved her hair from her face and gently pulled her closer, kissing her slowly. She liked his mouth and his moles and his hands and his beautiful eyes; she liked how he held her at night and to sleep by his side, to have his smell on her skin.

When he came back, after the whole nogitsune thing, she was afraid for then she knew that her approach at Eichen House wasn't the best one and maybe he was thinking about her the wrong way, maybe he wouldn't accept her as his mate, maybe he already had a girl who was his mate.

She was terrified, especially when she saw Lydia holding his hand and caressing his hair. Lydia, who was beautiful and smart and knew him for a long time.

But when his eyes met hers and he smiled, she felt the courage to step forward.

"Malia." He had said and she smiled.

"Hi."

And then he turned abruptly to Scott, as if he had just remembered something.

"Dude! I need you to teach her how to turn. I promised her we'd help her." He said eagerly and Malia just shook her head.

"That's not why I'm here." She said timidly.

"I know." Stiles replied with a smile and winked, making her blush.

That's why she decided to go to his house when he was out of the hospital. She looked into her mother's wardrobe and found this beautiful dress she used to love to see her mother wearing; it was dark grey with little yellow flowers, it was at the knees high and the top had a beautiful rag that was provocative without being vulgar. She put on a pair of low boots, a light jacket and headed to the Stilinski house, and for her luck, Stiles was alone.

They had sex for the second time in their lives and he hinted that he probably liked her enough to stay with her. He showed her pictures of his childhood and they both tried to remember if they had memories of each other at elementary school, with little success.

Ever since, she moved from her father's house to her other father's house, until finally staying at Stiles', an arrangement with little words and lots of action. And even though she was learning to change and go back to coyote form, every day with him was an argument to stay human.


	2. Love sick

Malia first felt it around a month after leaving Eichen House. It woke her up in the morning: a small protest in her stomach that put her head inside the toilet bowl for about ten minutes. She didn't know what was wrong and immediately thought about the tai food she had the day before with Stiles, Scott and Kira. When it happened three times in the same week, however, she  _knew_ something was off.

But she didn't want to think about it. She needed to figure out what she was going to do about her whole family problem. She was getting several visits from her cousin Derek and Marin Morrell; everyone was waiting for her decision, when she didn't even know who she was yet.

Coyote? Wolf? Trouble? Trickster?

There was a time when she liked to think she was just Malia. Not anymore.

"What's wrong with you, kiddo?" her father had asked one morning at breakfast. She wasn't very excited about her eggs and bacon - that used to be her favorite dish – and was just rolling the things in her plate. "Are you sick?"

She pouted.

"I think I'm love sick." She answered, and Mr. Tate raised his eyebrows.

" _Love_  sick? How?"

"I met a boy." Malia said timidly, her voice low.

"Where?" she could say he was both protective and annoyed. He had just got her back home, she was being claimed by her biological father and now a boy wanted to take his daughter from him too?

"At Eichen House."

He immediately stood up, started to pace up their small kitchen.

"You're in love with a crazy boy?"

"No! He's not crazy, he was there for other reasons!  _Supernatural_  reasons." She whispered the last part, making him blow a heavy sigh. "You know him, he's the Sheriff's son."

Mr. Tate looked at her for a long moment, his face serious and unamused.

"The Stilinski kid who comes here every other day?" she nodded. "You're in love with the Stilinski kid who's always in trouble?"

"Come on, dad!"

"Why?"

Malia took a deep breath, knowing that the situation could almost be comical.

"He's nice." She finally said. "He treats me well and cares about me. He helps me and teaches me stuff. And his kiss, dad, I swear to God…"

"DON'T want to hear it!" he almost shout, and she smiled.

"Okay, won't talk about it."

A little calmer, Tate looked to his daughter – his beautiful daughter he thought he'd never see again. The girl his wife brought home when she was just a toddler, with those big dark eyes of hers full of intelligence. She wasn't his blood and DNA, but he raised and loved her just the same. Malia was special, he knew that damn well. He forgave her. She was just a child and didn't know what to do. He himself made a lot of mistakes, and now he had the chance to start over the right way.

He sat down again and held her hand.

"I don't care if you fall in love, Malia, it's what teenagers do – it's what humans do during their whole life. We can fall in love a million times, even if it's for the same person. I remember what is like being seventeen and I need to tell you:  _no love is worth starving for_."

Malia smiled, truly happy for his words, and looked at her bacon and eggs one more time.

"It's a little more complicated than that, dad." She said, her other hand touching her venter. "But I'm gonna eat, it looks delicious anyway."

And she did. Just for, a hour later, throw everything up during the shower.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can I count with your kudle and review? Thank you! x


	3. Spy

"You did quite a good job keeping an eye on Stilinski for me at Eichen House." Marin said to Malia, a few weeks after life started going back to normal.

"Did exactly what you asked me, yes." The werecoyote replied, very seriously. She knew Marin Morrell probably wanted something more from her. It was like this since she first turned back human.

"Did  _more_  than I asked you." The druid said, and Malia raised an eyebrow. "Didn't need to have sex with the boy."

The girl blushed and looked anywhere but to Marin.

"I had sex with him because I liked him. And I still do it now because of the same reason. Not because it was or wasn't in your plans." It was a risky answer, but she chose her words – and tone – wisely. Marin nodded.

"I see."

After a few seconds of awkward silence, Malia raised her eyes to Marin again, a bit more confident and, to be quite honest, annoyed.

"So? What do you want?" her posture made the emissary smile, but the kind of smile that was very similar to proud.

"Don't worry, Trickster, it's not another favor, it's just a friendly warning."

"Okay…?"

And because it was Marin Morrell, she had to take a second to build tension.

"Try to stay away from Peter Hale." She said, and Malia waited for more. When she realized there was nothing, she shook her head, a bit confused.

"That's it?"

"Yes."

The coyote girl frowned.

"Now tell me something my boyfriend hadn't already told me, please?"

"You are cocky, Malia." Marin said, the same smile playing in her lips again. "I like that. And your father must like it as well." She stepped closer, talked lower. "You are strong. You're probably stronger than Scott and all his pack together. You're probably stronger than Peter, but you don't know how to use it yet. I know you can control your powers in animal form, but you still can't turn back, so you need to learn how to control it in shifter form. It takes time and patience, and you can ask Peter for help, because, let's face it, he knows things. But listen to my words carefully, Malia,  _you need to lay low_. Do not let show how great you are at certain things, it'll draw his attention and that's the last thing you want, for Peter is power-hungry."

"All right, you freaked me out a bit now." Malia said, stepping back and Marin nodded.

"Good."

"But they want me to move in with them." She said, worried. "I don't know if I can avoid it much longer.

"You'll figure out, I'm certain." She turned around to leave, but changed her mind and looked at Malia once again. "One more thing: you can trust Derek. He's keeping an eye on Peter for me and he'll follow my instructions when needed. We need you to trust his commands. He might not be your alpha – God, he's not even close! -, but he's your family and he's a good person.  _And_  he works for me. Be prepared. Any moment, everything can change."

"I'll be ready."

"I know." Marin nodded. "And stay with Stiles. He's a pain, but he's nice and you two can be good together. We already know a few parts fit."

Malia laughed and then it hit her.

"Wait a minute, did you just joke? Was that a joke, for real?"

Marin just shook her head, hiding the smile, and left through the front door of Malia's house with no other word.


	4. Arrangement

She was supposed to move. She was supposed to pack her things, leave the Tate's house and head to Derek's. Stiles would take her.

It was what she was supposed to do.

Earlier that week, Mr. Tate had sat down with his older daughter – the only family he had left – and told her she could go. He told her that he loved her very much, and he'd miss her, but the that they always knew that sooner or later Malia would have to go, follow her own roots, figure out her own self.

She didn't want to, at first. She thought:  _this is my home_. And that's what she told her father. HE was her father. Peter had nothing to do with her. But they both knew that the Tate's place wasn't her home anymore. It hasn't been since the accident, since she couldn't turn back human and decided it was better to be a coyote anyway.

But Mr. Tate didn't know that Derek's place (the room reserved for her had two beds, one of them was Cora's, who could come back any moment. The room, full of her cousin's stuff) did not feel like home to her as well.

Malia had no home. But she had to go anyway.

When Stiles came to take her, she had very few things packed, just enough to fit one of her mother's old suitcases. They got into the jeep in silence and Malia only spoke two blocks away.

"Can I stay at yours today?"

With his eyes focused on the road, Stiles smiled.

"If you didn't ask, I'd suggest."

And it kind of made her smile.

-X-

It was warm outside, a nice April day, and Malia was wearing a long sleeved dark green dress that showed a lot her legs. As soon as they arrived to the Stilinski house, she took of her All Stars, went straight to the kitchen and started fixing some oatmeal for them. He helped her, preparing some apple tea that he knew was her favorite.

The kissing session started when they were waiting the oatmeal to cool out. First in the kitchen, Stiles hands on her belly and up her breasts, his lips in her ear, making her lose focus – the dishes. She was  _hungry_. But damn, that boy knew where to touch. He was convincing, and Malia almost dropped a cup trying to fight him.

Stiles increased her hunger, but not in her stomach. It was a hunger coming from a little lower.

She turned around, facing him, and immediately he captured her lips in his. She eased off his jacket, threw it somewhere and he held her hips, turning and sitting her on the table. She pulled from him.

"We have meals here." Malia said breathlessly.

"I'm about to have a meal here." Stiles replied, making her blush a little. He used the opportunity to kiss her again and she crossed her ankles behind him, pulling him closer.

Desperately, he started to push and pull the fabric of her dress, and she was almost sitting on the table with only one layer of fabric between her and the wood, so she pushed him again, untangling her legs.

"Stiles, not here."

He looked at her.

"Your father can come in any moment."

It was a better excuse than the meals one, so Stiles shook his head and helped her to the ground. She took his hand and led him to the corridor before kissing him again.

"What about the oat-" he started, but she shut him with her mouth.

"Leave it." She said under her breath. "And make love to me."

It was something she didn't need to say twice. They stumbled to his room, barely closing the door behind them and Malia removed her panty at the same time Stiles opened his pants, lowering it to his knees. He sat on the bed and Malia climbed on top of him. They didn't bother with condoms and she gasped when she felt him inside her.

Malia was on top and dictated the tempo. They had as many clothe as the first time they were together, but that was alright. She moved slow and easy, allowing them both to feel every single moment of it, moans and kisses and hands.

Lydia had lent a book to her once. It was one of those silly romances you couldn't help but like it. Its protagonist wondered if home could be a person and not a place. Malia had the answer in her arms.

"What is it about you, Malia?" Stiles asked, his hands on her cheeks. They had finished, but he still was inside her.

"I can ask you the same." She said smiling and he smiled too. They were out of breath, but they could do a few more kisses.

After ten minutes or so, Stiles and Malia were lying on their side facing one another under his blue comforter, so close their breaths mixed together, her cold skin warm where he was touching her. His eyes were so clear; she loved his eyes. And she suddenly noticed she was using the L word when it came to Stiles.

"You stay here." He said, and she didn't understand.

"What?"

"You stay here with me. I talked to my father already and he said it's okay. You just make sure to meet Peter and Derek whenever they ask you to, because they can be a pain in the ass, but you live here, with me. I already cleaned part of my closet for you."

At first, Malia was speechless. Was it for real? Was this boy really offering her his house and his room and his closet and his bed? Would she have the chance to wake up with him every morning from now on?

The coyote girl, always so lonely, daughter of the woods more than of anybody else had really found a mate. And he had found her too.

It was the arrangement.


	5. Secret

The morning sickness was the hardest to hide being on the same house. It used to wake her up exactly at 7:15 a.m. and she used the opportunity to take a shower. Her routine consisted of going to the bathroom, locking the door, around five minutes of throwing up muffling the sound with the open shower, then changing to the hot water, unlocking the door, and getting under the running water. Every day, when she was finishing her shower, Stiles joined her, complained about the temperature and kissed her good morning.

Sometimes, the Stilinski had bacon and eggs for breakfast, and she had to go back to the toilet.

"Why aren't you eating?" Stiles once asked her, seeing her empty plate while there was lots of food – the eggs, the bacon, and sausages – on the table.

"Don't like the smell." She answered and swallowed making a face when put a huge piece of sausage on his mouth.

"Who cares about the smell?" he wondered aloud and chewed a few times. She just looked at him. "It's okay, I'll fix you something else. What do you want?"

Malia raised her glass of milk.

"Already eating."

"No way." And this time was his father talking. "You are not gonna live in this house and starve to death. Stiles, go to the bakery and bring some bread and cheese. We were needing it anyway."

"Right now?" he exclaimed, his mouth full again.

"It's not necessary, really!" Malia came to his rescue. "Look, I'll have some cheerios, okay? Stiles can eat my part of the eggs and after class we go to the bakery."

"Okay." The Sheriff agreed and pointed his fork towards her. "But I want you eating, young lady."

"Fine." She said, and stood up to get the cereal box.

-X-

Sometimes, at school, during some classes, the sickness happened again. It used to come when she was distracted, a hand on her venter, her fingers playing with the fabric between them and her skin; then, she had to raise her hand.

"Can I go to the bathroom?" she had to ask the teacher. Always around 9:40 a.m.

Once out of class, she jogged to the nearest girl's toilet, and poured down the contents of her stomach in the first toilet bowl she found.

That was how Kira knew.

9:40 was Kira's free period and she had seen Malia run to the bathroom a couple of times before she went to the one where the kitsune was emptying her bladder. She immediately knew it was Malia because of the time and because of her scent, so Kira did her business quickly, so she could talk to the girl.

She opened the door and leaned on the wall between the two cabinets. Malia's door was open and she was sitting on the floor, breath heavy. They looked at each other for an instant, studying what to say.

"Are you okay?" Kira finally asked. Malia just nodded. "Don't lie to me, I've noticed."

"Noticed what?" the coyote girl asked.

"It's my free period and I always see you running to toilets here and there. Or you have a very timed bowel or…" she raised an eyebrow and Malia said nothing. "Come on, Mal! You can trust me."

"I know." Malia answered, and she was being sincere. She passed her fingers through her hair nervously avoiding eye contact.

"Does he know?"

Kira's words trigged Malia and she immediately stood up.

"Does who knows what?"

"Malia!" Kira stopped her from walking away, holding her arms. "You're living together, how come he doesn't know?"

"I'm very good at keeping secrets.  _Are you_?" the kitsune took a deep breath and released her.

"Yes. I told you I'm your friend. But you have to tell him, Mal, it's gonna grow… Mal!" she called out, when Malia walked away, stepping out of the toilet to the corridor. She went after her. "I'm serious!" she begged and the coyote turned around, her eyes glossy with tears.

"Not here and now, please?" the girl said low and Kira closed the few steps between then, embracing her.

"Okay, I won't push you. I won't tell anyone, it's your secret to keep. Just let me help, all right?"

And just after Malia's nod Kira let her go.


	6. Fail moon

"You can do this." Scott assured her for the tenth time.

She could feel it in her bones that she could transform, but she was terrified. Not because of herself or because of the people who could get hurt like last time, in the car. But because of the little person slowly growing inside her. Malia looked at Kira and the kitsune nodded. It was dark already and the moon was high.

"Just let it go, Mal." Kira encouraged.

"You will be fine. You are ready." And this time was Stiles. She closed the few steps between them and kissed him quickly but passionately.

"Go home, okay?" Malia asked. It almost sounded like begging. He nodded. "Cross your heart."

"Yes, cross my heart." He did as she said and she smiled a little. "I know you can do this."

And she did. She turned into a coyote, full form, fur and all and it felt familiar and the scents all around almost made her dizzy. It was amazing. She ran to the woods and for a couple of minutes forgot who she was.

"I'll go after her." Kira volunteered, when Scott stepped in the direction Malia took. He looked at her.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure. I can do this. I call you if I feel something is wrong." She said and he nodded. Then, she looked at Stiles. "Stiles? Go home, okay?"

After he nodded, she ran to the woods, following Malia's trace. It was very steady at first, but soon she could smell the mess.

"No, Mal, come on." She said under her breath, running faster to get closer, the scent getting stronger in her nostrils. A few feet ahead, she saw the mass of grey fur, blue eyes, and the coyote didn't look well. "Mal, we need to get closer to my house. Come on, you can do it. I know you can."

The coyote looked at her with such force it could only mean she agreed.

"I'll show the way." Kira said, convinced, and ran off again, the coyote Malia on her heels.

They were close, Malia had taken the fastest way to get to Kira's place – something they planned a week before – and with a few more meters they could see the back of the house. But the coyote cried in pain right before the stepped out of the line of trees and Kira turned around in time to see Malia changing back to human, her body dirty and the smallest bump pointing in her venter.

Groaning, the girl rolled to her side and lifted her upper body just enough so she could vomit on the grass. It took her a couple of minutes to get everything out and Kira waited patiently.

"I can't do this." Malia said with a husky voice. "I keep thinking it'll hurt the baby."

Kira smiled at her friend.

"It's okay, we're almost there anyway." She shrugged off her leather jacket while Malia got up.

Kira had chosen the outfit thinking about that moment. She was wearing dark skinny jeans and a short black dress that she took off and handed to Malia. She put the jacket back on, over her white tank top.

"You are curvier than me, but I think it will fit okay." She said, and Malia took the dress, putting it on immediately. Together, they walked to the Yukimura house. "Your transformation is pretty cool, actually."

"Thanks."

"How far in the pregnancy are you?" Kira asked curiously. Malia knew by now that it was impossible to avoid the fox's questions and she did want someone to help her, considering she still had no idea what to do or how to deliver the news to Stiles.

"Three months, almost four." She answered.

"You are so sure."

"Yep." Malia nodded. "Eichen House."

Kira's eyes went wide.

" _Eichen House_? That's a bit unexpected."

Malia touched her belly.

"Tell me about it."

-X-

Once inside, Kira let Malia take a shower and when she was clean, the kitsune had filled her bedroom with Japanese food that they ate while watching Pitch Perfect.

"Stiles is not a big fan of new musicals. I mean, he cried with the reboot of Les Mis, but wasn't really impressed with Rock of Ages." Malia told Kira, her mouth full of sushi.

"Are you kidding me? Did he watch Pitch Perfect? Pitch Perfect is the boss!"

"Don't know if he watched already, not with me at least. But I agree, this movie is awesome."

Kira texted Scott telling him that Malia was in her house and they spend some girl's night, that she'd contact him if anything went wrong. She had schedule an appointment with the gynecologist for her the next morning – a Saturday.

"Why don't you want to tell Stiles?" she asked later, when they were in bed. Malia sighed.

"I…" she started, playing with the sheets. "I really like him. I don't know what's it about him, but he attracted in a way I can't explain. He's nice and caring and put others first. And he's also so intelligent! More than that, he's wise. And I had no idea what was the human thing to do to let him know, because the coyote in me was so strong…" Malia stopped for a moment, looked in Kira's eyes. "I don't want to make our relationship about this baby, I want to make it about us. And I'm scared, I'm  _terrified_  of what he might think when he realizes that I got pregnant the first time we got together."

"Why do you think he'll act badly about it? Stiles is a nice person, a just person."

"We barely knew each other at the time, it just happened. And I wanted him, I wanted him so bad."

"You've got him." Kira assured. "But you've got to be honest with him, Mal. It's the best thing to do."

Malia just nodded, unconvinced. It was hard to know what to do when you know what to do.


	7. Scan

The following morning, Malia rode the bus to the hospital; she chose to go alone and Kira respected her. Her appointment was at 8:30 and she had a good night of sleep, no morning sickness and all. She arrived at the hospital with plenty of time to find the gynecologist room, and found help with a familiar face – Melissa McCall was by the reception.

"Malia." She called, getting the girl's attention. "Are you lost?"

Malia just shook her head.

"I have an appointment, but I don't remember where it is exactly. Kira scheduled for me."

Melissa nodded and typed something on the computer.

"I can look it up for you, no problem. You remember the doctor's name?"

"Yes. Cole."

"Estela Cole, she's new." Melissa commented. "What's the last name you're using, Mal?"

"Tate." Malia answered soberly. "It's my name."

Melissa agreed seriously and concentrated on Malia's file.

"Oh, look! Here it is: room 43, second floor. Are you going alone?" Malia nodded and Melissa thought for a moment, analyzing the lost look in the girl's eyes. "Are you sure? My shift ends in five minutes, I can go with you." She made it sound as if it was a question.

Malia didn't know what to think. Most of the time she's a smartass, but the last couple of months weren't most time and she seemed to lose her timing.  _It was the secret_  – her mind whispered – it was consuming her.

"Would you do that?" she asked in a low tone. Melissa nodded. "Why?"

"Looks like you could have some motherly company." Melissa told her matter-of-factly. "A girl needs someone who knows what's going on in her first routine exam."

The answer made Malia smile and she nodded, agreeing. She waited for Melissa to change and then they walked to the second floor, spent the last ten minutes of wait talking about weird experiences of Melissa in the reception that night.

"You know, Scott doesn't get all protective over me in full moon's night the way Stiles get over his father, but sometimes I wish he did, especially after nights like last night, the amount of weird cases we had…"

"You think they had something to do to the full moon?" Malia asked curious.

"I don't know, you can never know in this town…"

"Malia Tate?" they were interrupted and looked up to a beautiful doctor in her late twenties, her golden hair in a ponytail. Malia stood up. "Let's go?"

The doctor turned around, walking to the open door of room 43 and Malia just looked at Melissa, waiting for confirmation. The nurse nodded and stood up too; she held Malia's shoulders and walked with her to the room.

"There's nothing to worry about, Mal, it's just a routine exam, you'll have to do it once or twice a year from now on, it's totally normal." Melissa was saying and Dr. Cole agreed.

"That's true." She said and indicated the chairs in front of her. Melissa closed the door and she and Malia took a seat each. "Let's chat a bit first, okay Malia?" she didn't wait for an answer. "How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

"Have you seen a gyneco before?"

"Nope."

"All right." She was taking notes. "You have a boyfriend or girlfriend?"

"Boyfriend, yes."

Dr. Cole raised her eyes, a smirk in her lips.

"The Sheriff's son, I know. But it's standard to ask."

"Oh."

"He likes you, the Sheriff. Thinks you're a good girl, good to his son." She continued and Malia raised an eyebrow.

"How do you possibly know this, Dr. Cole?" Malia asked sassily, a hint of her normal self surfacing. The doctor smiled.

"Sheriff Stilinski is a good friend of mine."

"Friend, huh?" the teenage provoked, sitting more relaxed in the chair.

"Yes. Friend." Dr. Cole reassured. Malia raised an eyebrow again.

"Oh-kay."

They didn't noticed Melissa uncomfortable in the other chair.

"I assume you and your boyfriend are sexually active." The doctor continued and Malia laughed.

"Heck yeah."

"Have you had sex with someone else before?"

"Nope. And don't want to, he's my mate."

Dr. Cole looked up to the teenage again, this time a bit confused, but shook it off.

"All right, Malia, I'll need you to change to this…" she put a blue hospital gown on the table. "There's a bathroom over there and while I check you out we'll talk a bit more."

"Okie dokie."

Malia quickly changed to the blue thin gown and lay down in the cold table in the uncomfortable position she was told to. It was weird, but she remembered going to one of those exams with her mother – she even had the courage to take a look! -; besides, she wasn't really worried about who'd see what, she couldn't care less.

"This is gonna be" Dr. Cole announced, as Melissa stood by Malia's side. "cold, dry and uncomfortable. Also, necessary. But I bet you already know that part."

"Yeah, heard of it." She came back and had a mini heart attack when she felt the metal. "Dude, it really is cold."

"And dry." Dr. Cole agreed. "Not nearly as cool as your boyfriend."

"There's no match for him, Doc." Malia replied, and Melissa chuckled, shaking her head. Oh, the kids in love, so adorable.

"Malia," the doctor said, after almost a minute of  _hms_  and  _uhums_. "When did you have our last period?"

There it was. It was time, wasn't it? To prove everything right, to confirm facts she already knew. Time to the specialist say so.

"Halloween." She answered quietly and avoided to look at the human beings in that room.

"Malia, it's almost march." Melissa stated, as if the girl didn't know.

"I know." She whispered, still not looking to the woman by her side and she felt the absence of the metal thing inside her.

"We're going to do a scan." Dr. Cole announced. "Melissa, can you help me?"

Immediately, Melissa helped Dr. Cole to take the scan machine and Malia did as they instructed. The process was fast and soon enough there was a gel being spread in her minimal baby bump.  _It's starting to show_ , she heard Melissa say under her breath. But the coyote girl was pretty sure Stiles had no clue about it. He was so good at keeping track of things, but how was that line she heard in the magic movie they watched the week before? The closer you are, the less you see.

"Are you going to explain why took you so long to come to the doctor?" Dr. Cole asked, searching for something with her cold machine in Malia's skin.

"Denial." The girl confessed and the doctor nodded. "You can't tell the Sheriff, Doc. Please."

The doctor's mouth formed a straight line and she didn't answer, so Melissa came to Malia's rescue.

"Estela, you actually can't."

"I know, doctor-patient policy." The doctor replied quickly and clearly unhappy about it. She sighed. "There it is. There's your baby, Malia."

Malia didn't want to look. Malia wanted to look so badly. Malia couldn't look, because there were so many tears in her eyes all she could make out was a yellow blur. And then she blinked and really, there it was. It looked like a baby. It had fingers and a huge head and it was so small and so ugly it was gigantic and beautiful.

She sobbed the moment Melissa held her hand a little tighter and then she was laughing, so many emotions going on at the same time.

"It really exists isn't it? I have a little person inside me." She said, drying her cheeks with her free hand. Dr. Cole nodded.

"Want to know the sex of the baby?"

Malia shook her head no.

"Not without him." She told Melissa later, when they already were outside. In her hands, Malia had the printed version of the image she saw on Dr. Estela Cole's monitor: her baby, hers and Stiles'.

"Are you sure you're gonna be okay?" Melissa asked for the tenth time. "Don't you want a ride home?"

"I'm not going home right now, I've been promising to meet Derek and Peter in weeks. And Kira will go with me, I'm meeting her at the park. I'll be fine."

"Okay." Melissa nodded with a smile.

"Melissa?" Malia called when mamma McCall was walking to the parking lot. She looked at the coyote again. "Thank you."

"No problem, sweet. You know you can talk to me anytime."

Malia knew.

-X-

"It looks like an alien little thing." Kira commented looking at the scan in her hands. They were at a park a couple of blocks from Derek's place.

"I know, right?" Malia laughed. "At least it's human, not coyote or something."

"Do you think it's gonna become a were-something?"

"I don't know. The odds are strong, I think. Too much supernatural power around."

"Probably." Kira agreed and handed the scan back to Malia.

"I want you to keep it." Malia said, refusing with a gesture. Kira's eyes grew with surprise.

"Really? Why?"

"Because you're my friend and you help and believe in me. Because you care." she explained and knew it was true the moment the words were spoken.

"Oh, Mal…" they hugged briefly. "Did you decide what you're going to do?" Malia just nodded. "Are you going to tell him?"

"Yes." She said certain. "I'm going to tell him."

"Best thing you could do."

The werecoyote just nodded again, both girls looking ahead, to the buildings across the street.

"Today?" Kira asked. Malia held her hand.

"Soon."


	8. Caput

A few weeks before, when Lydia, Kira and Malia went searching for the perfect prom dress, when the school's gym was colored in red and pink and there were hearts everywhere and Derek agreed to take Lydia to prom and Stiles had to drive Scott and Kira too, because there was no way Kira'd mess her outfit in Scott's bike; when Malia felt normal and loved, because Stiles gave her a yellow flower and told her she was beautiful, and the DJ played Arcade Fire's The Suburbs right when they were on the floor and Stiles sang the lyrics in her ear.

… _I want a daughter while I'm still young, wanna hold her hand, show her some beauty before this damage is done. But if it's too much to ask, if it's too much to ask… then send me a son…_

A few weeks before, when all of this happened, Malia couldn't know that in such short time everything would go caput.

-X-

"Well, well. Look who's back." She heard his voice before seeing him, when she stepped into Derek's loft. Peter appeared coming down the stairs. "My beautiful prodigal daughter. Did you miss me?"

"Why would I miss you?" Malia replied. She could feel her confidence crawling its way back.

Peter shook his head.

"Why so acid this early in the morning, Mal? I'm your dad, I'm teaching you things."

"You're a  _gene donor_." She corrected. "And you're not trust-worthy."

"But you've been learning things from me." He pointed out and she silenced.

She was learning a few things from him. Peter was a twisted man, but he knew so much, it was fascinating. Good things come from being part of a long line of werewolves, it seemed, and he helped her sharpen many skills without getting into her head. It turned out Malia was way stronger than she ever thought.

Or maybe she was just tough.

Peter knew Malia was holding back to her full transformation, though. And she knew he knew. He kept on teasing her why wouldn't she do it, that she was totally able to turn full coyote, she had everything it takes. He was  _so_  curious to discover why she wouldn't just let it go, make it happen.

"You wanted to see me." Malia finally said. "Now you saw me, I'm healthy, I'm alive, thank you very much. Can I go?"

"Why, no! Hold on, can't I spend a little quality time with my daughter?" he said, getting closer. She rolled her eyes, arms crossed. "It's been ages since I last saw you and I want to know about your full moon."

"What, weren't you stalking me like the other times?"

Peter made a face.

"No. Since you complained about it with Derek he's been doing this psychological drama, all protector, it's actually cute."

Malia raised an eyebrow.

"I heard he's not very good at stopping you."

"He's not." Peter shrugged. "But I felt like giving you space. You did promise you'd show up, and here yo-" he stopped mid-sentence, sniffing something in the air.

Malia stepped back when he stepped closer, he was just a few foot from her, but soon she was trapped against the wall. He was sniffing around her and then her, frowning more and more each second.

"What the hell?" she exclaimed when he sniffed around her stomach and he stood straight, looking right into her eyes.

"You're pregnant."

Malia's eyes widened and she chocked surprised.

"What are you talking about?" she tried, but she could see his eyes changing to something dangerous.

"You are." He assured and his eyes flashed blue for a second – so fast that you wouldn't notice if you weren't paying attention.

"What the hell are you doing, give the girl space." Derek said in a bored tone, coming from the street and to Malia's surprise, Peter did what he was told.

"Smell her." He ordered Derek, who looked at him confused.

"What?"

"Just do it, damn it!"

He dropped the bags he was carrying by the door and walked to Malia with a very confused expression, his eyes as if questioning what the heck was going on. Malia couldn't talk. She was paralyzed with how easy Peter had sensed the baby inside her, all she could think was that thank God she didn't show up sooner, when she still was in denial.

Derek sniffed, still unsure why he was doing it, still wondered what he was supposed to find.

"Peter-" he started, but Peter shout back.

"JUST SMELL HER, YOU'LL FIND!"

The cousins exchanged a look and Derek sniffed her again, this time sensing something different, under the layers of her fear and chock, under forest and Kira and hospital. And under Stiles, raw Stiles, under her skin there still was Stiles, but different, kind of mixed, kind of as if there was someone entirely new…

He looked at her.

"Oh, God, you're pregnant."

"How can you tell?" she whispered.

"Who's the father?" Peter asked rudely and both Malia and Derek looked at him as if he was stupid.

"Are you kidding me?" Derek said.

"Who do you think the father is?" Malia replied, her voice more strong and confident; Peter waited for her answer. "Stiles! My boyfriend, with whom I've been living! Gosh, you definitely are the worst father of the world."

Derek didn't understand why his uncle would ask such stupid question, they could smell Stiles all over Malia, was the central reason he found the scent of the baby. But something changed in Peter's eyes again the moment he confirmed who impregnated his daughter and that the cousins noticed too. The sudden interest in Peter's posture said it all and Derek stood between him and Malia protectively.

"I don't know what you are thinking, but this is coming to an end right now." Derek said and he reached for Malia's hand, holding it firmly. "You are not meeting her alone and you're not touching her family."

Peter looked at Derek almost annoyed.

"It's my family too."

"No, it's not." Malia assured, her other hand on Derek's arm. "And you don't have a say on the matter. My baby. And its grandparents are my  _real_  father - Tate - and the Sheriff. Derek? I wanna go home."

He did take her home, where Stiles was waiting – worried, because he knew where she was and she was gone since the night before, the full moon – doing his homework. As soon as he saw her, he put his books aside and she hopped to his lap, kissing him in the cheek.

"Hi, babe. Had a good meeting with Peter?" he asked, teasing. He knew she didn't like couple-y nicknames nor Peter.

"No." she answered, prolonging the word. "It was hella weird."

"Was it?"

Malia looked up at Derek, who was standing by the door of Stiles' room and he was looking at her, waiting.

"Yea, Peter scares the shit out of me sometimes." She said lower, serious. Stiles looked at her with understanding eyes.

"It's a family thing, I guess. You Hale are very extreme."

"HEY!" Both Malia and Derek protested and Stiles laughed, holding her tight.

For the tenth time, the cousins exchanged a look. She wouldn't tell Stiles right at that moment, Derek knew. She'd wait a bit more. It was okay for him, he was pretty sure he knew what she was doing, even though he didn't completely agree. They had had that conversation on the way and he wouldn't discuss with her. But he knew someone who'd love to know about the whole pregnancy thing and, specially, Peter's interest in it; someone who was keeping an eye on Malia for quite a while and would help him take care of her.

"You good now, Mal?" he asked, his phone already in his hand.

"Yeah." Malia nodded. "Thanks for the ride."

He waved his goodbye to the couple and left, making the call, begging for the person to pick up. When he hopped in front of his wheel, he heard her now familiar business tone – always the business tone.

"You better have a good reason to interrupt me."

Derek rolled his eyes.

"I have some interesting news about Malia, but if you're too busy I can call another time." He said, starting the car. The line was silent for a second.

"Okay, it better be good." She said, sounding more interested than bored this time. Derek smiled.

"That's the Marin I like to work with."


	9. Dead words

One week. She hadn't told him. And she felt bad.

Every morning, when she woke up and looked at his beautiful face (she tried to picture how their kid would look like; the scan did so little to show its features and she liked his face so much, she wanted the kid to look like him) and she trained the words in her mouth, but when he opened his eyes, the words died.

"I'm pregnant." She once whispered to his sleeping figure. "We're pregnant and I think I love you."

But when he woke up, she had no strength to say it again aloud.

-X-

She felt bad. Not only her mind, but her body. She had barely slept and the little sleep she had by the morning was interrupted by Stiles kissing her neck. She turned to face him, enjoying the comfort of his arm around her and he kissed her forehead.

"Good morning." He greeted sleepily and she smiled a little.

"Morning."

"You're feverish." Stiles commented. Malia was always so cold, he could tell when her temperature was off.

"Yea, I don't feel very well."

He looked at her for a long moment, deciding what to do or say.

"Think you can go to school?"

Malia shrugged and pulled him closer for a kiss. He tangled his finger in her hair, deepening the kiss and she sighed in his lips, glad for the contact. Stiles' hands went from her hair down her spine, raising the shirt she was wearing, an arm holding her close the other hand playing with one of her breasts. It hurt a little, which was odd. It had never hurt, but that particular morning she felt all sore. His hand went down to her belly and Malia immediately pulled out, sensing the sickness creep up her throat.

Without giving explanations, she ran to the bathroom, where the Sheriff was brushing his teeth and threw up on the toilet bowl noisily, emptying her stomach. She hit the flush when she felt hands on her hair again, brushing it off her face.

"I don't think you can go to school today." Stiles said. He was the one holding her hair. She threw up a bit more, already tasting the bile in her tongue. "Want me to stay with you?"

Malia shook her head no, spiting in the bowl, then she wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and cringed in fetal position by the bowl.

"No, I just need to lay here for a bit and then I'll go back to sleep, I'll be okay soon." She assured, her voice weak. Stiles looked at her worried.

"But it's cold in here."

She nodded.

"Cold is good."

"She really is sick." The Sheriff said, frowning. "Want me to take you to the hospital?"

"No, it's okay." She said very low, her eyes closing, her hands on her stomach. "I heard around school that there was a virosis…" one more lie added, Malia thought bitterly, but cowered over the idea of telling Stiles the real motive over her sickness in front of his father. "It's gonna… I just need to lay down and let it pass."

Both Stilinski exchanged a look for a second, and then nodded. Stiles took a towel and put it under her head while his father went to the kitchen and came back with a glass of water, put it by her side on the floor.

"You call me if you get worse, okay?" Stiles said to her and Malia opened her eyes a bit, just to look at him and nod. "Are you sure you can be alone?"

"Yes, babe." She whispered and tried to smile, but it came out more like a smirk. She groaned and sat up again, throwing up once again.

Unsure, Stiles left her, not without kissing the top of her head first. He checked her once again before leaving for school and so did the Sheriff, but she was half asleep on the cold floor of the bathroom.

Later that day, when Sheriff Stilinski got home just to check on her, he found Malia deep asleep on her bed. She was so tired she didn't even flinch or flutter her eyes the way she used to do, for she was a light sleeper. Deep down, he hid a feeling that her behavior was familiar and had nothing to do with virosis, shook his head and went back to the station.


	10. Unity

When Stiles came home after a rough lacrosse training, Malia was fine and beautiful, even though she looked a bit tired. She was cooking some mac and cheese, listening to rock 'n roll on the radio (the Rolling Stones' Satisfaction was on) and singing along very off key. Malia loved music – especially the ones she remembered from pre-turning -, and he tried to teach her a few singing tricks, but she couldn't care less. She simply liked to sing her music.

She announced that dinner was almost ready and he decided to take a shower before anything else.

After dinner, she put on  _The Avengers_ , because Hulk was her new favorite character and they watched it with no interruptions until close to the end, when the Sheriff called telling that he wouldn't be back anytime soon, for there had been a car crash.

"Are you okay?" he asked when the final credits showed up and Malia assented not meeting his eyes and skipping the video to the end where they could see the bonus scene.

"Told you I just needed to rest." And then she looked at him and smiled.

They just looked at each other for a long moment, completely forgetting the TV and Stiles realized right there and then that he loved her. He loved her and he couldn't picture his life without her – which was so crazy! How wouldn't it be? They were so young. Sure they'd seen a lot in life, but there was so much more to see and so many people to meet.

Yet, it sounded truthful, the feeling inside him: that such beautiful girl cared about him and counted on him to be her boyfriend, enjoyed to wake up by his side every morning.

"I love you quite a bit, Stiles." Malia said, a reference to a TV show they watched together not long before. There was nothing he could say back, so he gently kissed her.

-X-

They made love.

She didn't need to ask and they didn't need to rush. She craved her nails in his back as if there was another way to be one and he kissed her dearly, deeply, curiously, rediscovering every bit of her. Invested.

Before 10 p. m. they were completely exhausted. Unable to let go of Stiles, Malia lay with her head on his chest, listening close to his heart beat and slowly falling asleep.

"Malia?" Stiles called and she hummed a yes. He waited until she looked up at him. "I love you too."

The werecoyote girl smiled sleepy and happy.

It was their last good day.


	11. Off

You know when the day feels weird?

From the moment Stiles woke up, he felt as if something was off. It shouldn't be. He had his beautiful girl in his arms, his father was fine, his friends were fine, no death trap around the corner.

Yet, the odd feeling haunted him.

-X-

By third period, Mr. Yukimura class, there was a knock on the door. It was Malia, with her backpack.

"Can I talk with Stiles for a second?" she asked and the whole class turned to look at him. Mr. Yukimura allowed and he quickly went outside.

"Are you okay? Is something wrong? Are you sick again?" he blurted out, but Malia just smiled.

"I'm fine, relax!" she assured. "In fact…" she thought about it for a second. "I don't feel that good in weeks. I'm rested." She looked at him. "I'm fine."

He pushed away the thought of how she probably spent a lot of time uncomfortable. A lot of the time they were together. It wasn't what bothered him and she sounded so light, so happy.

"What's going on, then?"

"I'm going home." Malia pointed her backpack.

"Why?"

She shrugged.

"Are you sure you're okay?"

"Stiles." Malia put a hand on his chest over his heart. "Calm down. I just have a few things to do, I need to get it done and I know you have lacrosse today, so I figured a way to leave early. It's important, you'll see. And it's nothing to worry about. I'll see you later."

He hesitated, looked back at Scott, who was paying attention and Kira smiled, and then he looked back at Malia.

"How are you gonna go?"

"I'll take the bus, don't worry."

"If you feel something,  _anything_ , call me."

"All right."

She leaned closer, resting her forehead on his chin, catching his scent, her hand still over his heart.

"Everything will be fine." She whispered. He believed her.

When he got home, she wasn't there. None of her things were on the closet, her suitcase was gone. He didn't notice the pink and blue papers in his desk, some already on the walls as if she was preparing some kind of commemoration. He noticed the void she left and the "I love you. M" written in lipstick on his mirror.

Confused, in his bed, he dialed her number over and over, always getting to the same thing.

_Hi, it's Malia! Leave a message._

_Where are you? Come back._


	12. Unplanned

Malia had everything ready. Almost. In her mind. She knew exactly how she'd tell him and was very ready for his reaction. So when she got home, after stopping to buy a couple of things, she started to prepare the room. She wanted to do a mosaic with their photos and since she didn't know if the baby was a boy or a girl, she'd use pink and blue paper to color the mosaic.

She had just started to cut the forms when someone knocked insistently on the front door. Derek scent was strong with anxiety and fear, so she rushed to see what he wanted.

As soon as she opened the door, he got in, walking straight to Stiles room.

"Do you have a suitcase?" he asked. Malia followed him.

"Yes. Is the red one. Why do you need my suitcase?"

"It's not for me." He opened the closet and grabbed the suitcase from the top shelf, putting it on the bed. She frowned.

"What's it for, then?" Malia asked slowly, fearing anything he would say next. His vibe wasn't making her feel very well about that conversation. Derek took a deep breath and turned to face her.

"You are coming with me."

"Where?"

"Far."

"Why?"

"I can explain on the way, but you need to pack, because we need to leave before he realizes it." The wolf started to throw her clothes into the suitcase, barely stopping to check it they were hers or Stiles's. She guessed his flair was good, because he wasn't missing one.

"Who's he?"

"Peter."

It was the answer that dreaded her. She had been avoiding the former alpha ever since he found out about her pregnancy and she was hoping never hear about him again, but life wouldn't be so nice, would it?

Malia stepped back, a hand on her belly and Derek stopped what he was doing to look at her again.

"But I was going to tell him today." She whispered. Derek put a hand on her shoulder.

"Malia… I never thought it was a good idea to keep Stiles from knowing about this baby, but right now I'm glad you did. We don't know for sure yet what exactly Peter is planning to do, but we know it's not nice and the less Stiles know, the better. You'll be, actually, protecting him. Peter will have no reasons to go after him." She looked down, unsure if she should follow him or her gut. "Mal? I need you to pack your things now, because Marin is waiting with an helicopter and we need to  _go_."

"When are we coming back?"

"As soon as we find a way to get Peter out of our back."

"Is it before or after the baby is born?"

Derek looked into her eyes for a long time – more than it would be wise, considering that they were in a hurry – and swallowed hard.

"I can't answer that, I don't know. But I hope we can come back soon." A tear dropped from Malia's eyes and he felt the need to embrace her. "I'll do everything I can to bring you back, Mal, I promise. You, this baby and Stiles, you'll live, okay? Peter won't be wicked enough to take that away from you, I won't let him."

She nodded, trying to control herself and they broke the hug. She started to pick her things and put on the suitcase.

"Why are you doing this, Derek?" Malia decided to ask not much later. They were quick, the suitcase was almost full. Derek didn't look at her to answer.

"Laura. She was strong and powerful, but I was never able to protect her, not even a bit. And Peter took her away from me. And then Cora. He never told me she was alive, I just got the chance to be with her again when she already was all grown up and independent and now she's away again. But now I have more family and I have the chance to do it right. I'll do it right, even if I lose a hand in the process."

"Like Buster in Arrested Development?" she asked and he raised an eyebrow with the reference. Stiles was doing a great job with her.

"No. More like Luke Skywalker in The Empire Strikes Back. I hope."

Malia laughed and her laugh eased his heart. It wasn't an easy decision, to take her out of the country, far from her family and friends right when she was finally starting to settle in, but it was necessary. From all the things he saw Peter do and plan, Malia's baby had the worst destiny he could ever imagine, if it ended up in its grandfather's hand.

They left a few hours before Stiles and the Sheriff would be home. They ignored the neighbors and rushed away, leaving Beacon Hills behind and by the time Malia's phone rang, they already were on the helicopter flying high and far. She couldn't answer, Marin wouldn't let her. But they couldn't stop her from crying.


	13. Soft

Scott was the first to come. He assured Stiles he'd try and track Malia. He told he could smell Derek too, so maybe the former Alpha could know something about her. Derek wasn't picking up the phone, however.

Then came his father, all business. She wasn't with Tate, the Hale loft was empty. They were searching everywhere.

And then, just when the sun was down, came Lydia. At this point, Stiles was a ball of guilt and helplessness in his bed, phone in hand, still dialing her number. The banshee sighed when she saw him and quickly approached, putting a hand on his and taking the phone from him.

"Don't be like that, please?" she pleaded, caressing his arm.

"Can you hear something? Anything?" he said, not meeting her eyes. "Anything."

"I can try." Lydia replied, worry in her voice. It was terrifying to see Stiles like that. He was unease the whole day and Malia was gone for just a few hours, but he was so lost. What did the werecoyote made to him? How could she have softened him that way?

Stiles just nodded at her, still not exactly looking at her and Lydia stood up, pacing around the room. She touched the papers and scissor on his table, feeling a rush of happiness in them. It wasn't what she was looking for, so she looked at the walls. Between band and movie posters, the pictures of friends and so many pictures of the two of them. Malia's favorite, a picture that Lydia herself had taken on Christmas, wasn't there.

She turned her gaze to the closet and touched its door when she got closer. The voices were clear in her ears.

_You are coming with me._

_Where?_

_Far._

Derek and Malia. It made her gasp and lose balance, so she leaned on the wall. The emotions were very intense and she didn't know how to control her powers, but she knew there was something important in there.

Taking a deep breath, she touched her forehead on the wall, trying to focus somehow and when her fingers touched the pictures, she heard something else.

_the less Stiles know, the better. You'll be, actually, protecting him._

That couldn't be good.

Lydia stepped back and turned to Stiles. He was finally looking at her.

"She's definitely with Derek." She spoke up, nodding. "But I can't figure anything more than that. They were in a hurry and he was worried. She was very sad."

She handed the phone back to him and he took it, holding it tight. There wasn't much she could do but assure that Malia was alive and fine – but she couldn't know if the werecoyote was  _fine_ , could she?

"I'm sorry." Lydia said at last. "I wish I could do more. But I'm sure she wouldn't leave you like that without a good reason."

"I know." Stiles replied and sat down on the bed, always starring at his hands. "I know."

All he wanted was to protect her, for her to never feel the urge to leave. But he had failed at that, hadn't he? He was just human, after all.

"I'm certain she'll contact you as soon as she can." Lydia continued. "She loves you, right?"

"Yes." He answered, looking at her.

"She'll come around, then. Just wait a bit, huh?"

Stiles nodded. What else could he do but wait?


	14. Voicemail

Malia and Derek were sent to Portland where Marin found them a place to stay while she used her contacts to get Cora on a plane and also to make sure Peter wasn't on their heels. In two days, her voice mail was full.

_Malia, babe, where are you? What's going on? Come on, you know you can tell me._

_Bae… please call me back._

_I screwed something up, didn't I? I did, of course I did. But I can fix it. Just… come home and I'll fix it._

_Something is wrong and Lydia knows it, but she doesn't want to tell me. She says you're protecting me and I should wait for you, but I don't like that plan. Mal, I need you here. I really need you here, please come home._

They went on forever. Sometimes Stiles found something to blame himself, sometimes he just said her name and went silent for long enough to the time almost run out until he said something else. He never blamed her, though, and her heart ached.

They got into a plane to New Zealand the day after Malia realized that her baby bump was pointing up. She even pointed it out to Derek when she sat by his side.

"Derek, look!" she said caressing her round belly. "It's starting to show."

"I see." He tried to sound unimpressed, but his scent betrayed him – he was happy for her.

"I felt it move yesterday."

"It's starting to want more space, I think."

On the other side of Malia was an old lady who was openly smiling at them.

"And don't you want to feel your baby move?" she asked, looking directly at Derek.

They needed a second to understand what she meant, and then they made a face.

"Oh, no, ew." Malia exclaimed.

"We're cousins, she's my cousin." Derek said. They were talking at the same time.

"I mean, he can touch it."

"It's not mine. Ew. Just ew."

"But yeah, we're cousins." She concluded and the lady nodded in understand.

"Okay, sorry, my mistake."

They fell silent for moment before Malia turned to the lady.

"Aren't you going to jab about how I'm too young to be with child? Or where its father is?"

The old lady openly laughed and patted her hand.

"My dear, I got married at age sixteen. I definitely can't judge you."

Malia smiled and right after jumped when her phone buzzed. She took it from her pocket and looked at the screen that indicated she had an incoming call from Stiles. She waited for it to go to voicemail and right after listened to it. At the sound of his voice, the baby kicked.

"Miss," the attendant said, when Malia lowered her phone. "we're about to take off, I need you to turn off your phone.

She did as she was told and off they went to New Zealand.

_Babe, I know you still have this number. I know you're listening to my messages. It's been a week and if you weren't, your inbox would be full by the end of the first day. It's been a week and I love you. Come home._


	15. Attitude

"You can't stay in bed until she comes back!" Scott exclaimed and Stiles just turned around facing the wall. The Alpha threw his hands up in exasperation. They had had that conversation before. "Stiles, it's been nine days! Come on."

"Fuck off." He mumbled.

"No, I won't fuck off."

"Alright, don't then." He replied, rolling his eyes and then checked his phone, even though he knew there was nothing new. Scott sat on the chair next to the bed.

"I got a text from Derek." He said and threw his phone at Stiles back. Slowly, as if he was debating if it was worthy, Stiles turned around and took the phone in his hands.

_We're okay. Just don't look for us, this is important._

Stiles scoffed.

"Yeah, so helpful."

"Come on, dude. It's good news, isn't it? You need to cheer up this attitude, you said she's been listening to your voicemails."

"She was. Not for the past two days though, her inbox is full."

"I really think they have a good reason for leaving. I mean, we haven't heard from Peter too, so I think it's a family thing."

"Doesn't mean I can't be miserable about it." Stiles pondered and Scott almost smiled.

"The facial hair is building up the miserable attitude, really. Bro, you can't grow a beard."

"Let me be miserable my own way." He replied with false annoyance. The fact was that Scott was kind of cheering him up a bit.

"Yeah, that's not happening." Someone else said from the door and they both looked just to see Lydia standing there. She walked firmly in Stiles' direction and pulled out the covers from him, not without whines and complaints. "You're getting up and you're taking a bath and you're getting back to school today."

"No." Stiles whined and Lydia sent him a hard look.

"I'm not giving you an option." She stated.

Stiles just stood there unmoving for a whole minute. Scott waited. Lydia crossed her arms and stomped her feet in her best diva attitude.

She was the only one who was able to make him stand up and live again.


	16. Meeting

They met Cora at the airport. She was living in New Zealand for exact four days and Malia's phone had no signal, so her option was to meet more family and go along with the plan.

Cora and Malia had almost the same height, the same brow eyes, the same Hale nose. But they were completely different. Cora was sarcastic, Malia was deadly honest; Cora could talk for hours, Malia still had the coyote way of communication intrinsic in her.

However, the two girls shared something very strong: they knew exactly what survival of the fittest was and how it worked. So they bonded over this.

"I know we're on the run because of the child of yours," Cora said the afternoon they met, when they already were in the cabin by the beach Marin had found for them "because uncle Peter has some sick plan to use it, but you never really told me who's the father."

She looked from Malia to Derek and saw that her brother gulped – something that made her frown a little. Malia caressed her round belly tenderly.

"True, I think I thought you knew it already." The werecoyote said with a smile and her eyes shone. "It's Stiles, he's the father. Do you know him?"

After a few seconds of shock, Cora nodded.

"Stiles?" Malia's smile widened. "Yeah, I know him."

"He's the greatest, isn't he?"

Derek sighed dramatically.

"Is good you're here, Cora." He said with annoyance. "Now you two can share stories about Stiles and I can be spared."

Malia wanted to mock him, call on his soreness, but her attention was really on Cora.

"He's a good guy." Her cousin agreed, and both girls smiled. "A tad annoying, but a good guy. I'm surprised he let you come."

Malia shook her head; her two hands were on her bump now.

"He doesn't know about it."

Cora knew what  _it_  meant and suddenly everything made a bit more sense. She felt very sorry about her cousin and her friend.


	17. Oh Eurydice

Malia misses him every single day, every single minute. Their baby grows and they are safe – for now. Cora is a good friend and Malia has a family (small and broken, but family altogether). It feels a bit empty without him, but the baby's heartbeat comforts her.

She can't help dialing his number once in a while, though. It's risky, they don't know for sure how Peter was trying to track them, but Marin assured them that the pack was safe. Deaton was taking care of them, she was told. So she dialed, every time using a different phone. But couldn't bring herself to say something when he picked it up.

All she can think of is

_I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry._

And

_I love you._

While he says

" _Who's that?_ " and eventually hangs up, sometimes even before she can form the words in her tongue.

She doesn't blame him, even though she knows he blames himself.

-X-

With a little help, he picks himself up, gets himself together. He doesn't understand, but manages to live with it. Without her, still confused with the hurricane that she was and the destruction left behind when it was over. He walked the corridors of Beacon Hills High School acting normal, but smiling less than he used to. He's got good grades, but not great ones, like he used to.

But it's been almost two months and he's getting there. One day, sooner or later, he knows there will be here.

Is leaving Mr. Yukimura's class that his phone rings. It's an unknown number coming from – and he knows that because he already made a little research – New Zealand. It's always the same story, but he picks up every single time, because he has a good guess who's on the other side. Falling behind a couple of steps, Stiles picks up.

"Hello?" he asks, just to find no answer. He can hear the breathing of the other person, coming all the way from NZ; he slows his pace. "Malia?" there's a sob and then silence. "Malia, talk to me, where are you?"

Nothing.

And more nothing.

And he says

"It's okay, Mal. Just come back home, you can come back home, I'm not mad."

It's true. At the moment, all he can feel is… nothing. Like what he gets every time she calls. For a moment, he thought something would happen. For a moment, he knew nothing would happen. And then she cried. Full on sobbing for a hole half minute, just the sound of her breathing and the wetness of her tears. And finally, the words in a whispered, chocked tone before she hung up.

" _I'm sorry_."

"I'm sorry for what exactly?" Stiles asked his phone, looking at the blank screen, and then he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Who are you talking to?"

It was Lydia and she made him walk again. Scott and Kira were waiting on the end of the corridor, the kitsune looking for something in her notebook. When they saw the other two were coming, they started walking again.

"I got another call." He told Lydia and she nodded. She was the only person he talked about the calls.

"Same old?" she asked and he nodded, his eyes wandering through the hall not focusing in anything. He didn't feel like telling her about what just happened and what Malia said. He doubted he'd get any other call soon, so he wanted to keep that moment to himself.

"Same old." Stiles said and his eyes caught something falling from Kira's notebook; a piece of paper that slid two feet away from them. "Hey, Kira!" he called and rescued the square from the floor, only them noticing that there was something written in it.

 _Mal and Stiles' baby's first scan!_  – said Kira's handwriting.

For a second, Stiles didn't breath. He turned the paper just to see it was a picture (it was a baby indeed, tiny and yellow with a nose that, if he looked closer, resembled Malia's a lot), then he read the caption on the back one more time before looking at Lydia.

"Did you know about this?"

The banshee took her eyes from the picture and eyed him in chock, shook her head no. Taking a deep breath, he looked at Kira again, so ahead of them.

And he just snapped.

"KIRA!" he shouted, and the sound of his voice made Lydia cringe, as if the walls were about to fall.


	18. Him

"KIRA!" Stiles' voice echoed on the corridor one more time, making Lydia feel smaller and the kitsune looked back, her eyes wide.

He didn't the moment he strutted in her direction nor how fast he walked, but he sure saw fear in her eyes as she walked backwards, trying to diverge from other people who were giving him space to get to her. Stiles was so focused, that neither Lydia or Scott processed what he was doing until he grabbed Kira by her backpack strap and pulled her inside the nearest empty classroom; it was only the sound of the door closing that made the other two move.

" _What the fuck is that_?" he spat the words, still holding her strap with his left hand, the right one holding the picture so close to Kira's face the girl thought he'd make her eat it.

"I'm sorry." She said, her voice so small he could barely hear it. Lydia and Scott entered in the classroom, both an arm way reach from Stiles. The words rushed out of Kira's mouth with something near terror in them. "I'm sorry, she wanted to tell you herself, I don't know what happened, but she made me promise, Stiles, please, I'm sorry."

He didn't move one inch, his grip tighter in her bag.

"How long have you known?" he asked and instead of backing up, the boy got closer. Kira cringed afraid of looking away from his brown eyes.

"Stiles, let go of her." Scott said in a controlled tone. It was much of an order, but Stiles was no werewolf to be dealt with Alphaness.

"How. Long." He demanded and being that close he could see the tears forming in her eyes.

"A few months." And before he could let the anger take over, she continued talking. "I kept on insisting for her to tell you, I swear I tried, but something always held her back, I don't know what. She was worried and scared and by the time she gathered the courage, something bigger happened. She was going to tell you, Stiles, I know she was. She made me promise her I wouldn't say anything to you and then, soon she disappeared. I swear it's the truth, please calm down, let me go,  _you're scaring me_."

His brow furrowed in confusion at this.

"How could I scare you?" he asked taken aback, but it was Lydia, behind him, who answered.

"You look a lot like him when you're mad." The banshee said in a quiet tone and Stiles needed a minute to understand what she meant. After a couple of seconds, he got it.

Him. The Nogitsune. The guy wearing his body who scared those two girls to death not very long ago. It made Stiles very unease and ashamed that he could bring up the memory of such vile creature in their minds and the information made his mind relax a bit. He was in control in there. There was no more evil spirit taking over his sanity – but there was this werecoyote who took away his heart, shipped it to New Zealand and ate it for dinner and only now he knew why she would be sorry.

Looking down, Stiles gave a second look at the baby in the picture – its tiny hands waving a hello, the nice, beautiful nose of Malia's. He felt tears burning the back of his eyes.

"I found out she was pregnant by pure chance." Kira continued, now more calm and with a much firmer voice, probably because she was more certain that Stiles wouldn't hammer her head against the table or the wall. "She's got morning sickness every day at the same-ish time and I just figured it out. Malia gave it to me because I helped her gather the courage to go to the doctor and also to tell you. She was excited, the morning she left. She told me she knew exactly how to tell you, that she had everything planned, but latter, she texted me telling me not to say anything, no matter what."

"She was protecting you by not saying anything." Lydia said, a few pieces getting together of what she heard in his room the day Malia left. "If you did know, you'd be in danger."

Scott looked worriedly from the banshee to the others.

"Do we know if this danger is still around or not?" he asked already in his hero-let's-save-the-world mood.

"I don't know, she never calls or anything…" Kira commented, but Stiles already had tuned out the voices.

Feeling the heaviness in his chest, he dropped the picture and breathing in short cuts. He stormed out of the classroom and he didn't run only because he wasn't sure if he could. Barely aware of the others following him and calling his name, he headed to the parking lot, his brain working a million per hour.

Malia was pregnant.

They'd have a baby anytime soon.

He had never noticed – and every time this thought hit him, he remembered something (anything) about those last two months they had together.

They'd have a baby anytime soon and something about that baby put them in danger, something about that baby would get him safer if only he didn't know.

But Stiles wanted to know. He wanted to be there with Malia,  _for_  Malia and  _fight_. And that realization was stronger than anything else.

It made him dizzy, the image of that little human growing inside of Malia. Their kid. They were so young, had lived so much. Was it too much already? He couldn't tell. The sight of future had never scared him and Stiles knew how to deal with moments, but that was new. Ever since Malia entered in his life, he was new.

They would have a baby and all of the thing revolving around that fact made him want to scream.

So right there and then, in the middle of the school's parking lot, not even realizing that he was crying, Stiles opened his mouth and let it out. He simply… screamed.


	19. Inertia

"He can't talk." Lydia told the sheriff as soon as he entered the nursery.

"Why?" the father asked with confusion. "Is he in shock or something?"

The banshee shook her head.

"No, he just fucked up his vocal cords for screaming too much." At that, Stiles, from his spot on the bed, rolled his eyes, but didn't try to talk. He had indeed fucked his vocal cords and that was why his father was called there. He had made quite a show.

"Why were you screaming in the first place?" the sheriff asked with exasperation. He didn't like at all the tone of the principal when he got the call telling that his son was causing a bit of a commotion at the school's parking lot and was going to be suspended for a couple of days. "And what is this story you attacked Kira?" oh, yeah, there was that too.

"Well, it wasn't much of an attack…" Lydia started in his defense, but Stiles just raised his hand showing the picture that someone (maybe Kira or Scott, he didn't process who) gave back to him and before his father could take it, he turned it around, showing the caption.

The sheriff took the picture from him, frowning and they saw the exact moment the information sank, all of his suspicions confirmed.

"Oh, shit."

-X-

"I want meat." Malia whined for the tenth time of the day and Cora just rolled her eyes.

"You also said you need to go to the toilet, but the baby is fucking with your bowel." Derek replied, very matter-of-factly. "You made me go around and found something that would help you with that. And you almost drove us crazy with that talk, so you better eat your salad and go be the queen of toilet for how long you need, just shut the hell up."

Her jaw dropped in false shock.

"Don't talk like that to the pregnant girl, you might upset the baby!" she said, her hands protectively on her almost six months bump.

"Seriously, Mal." Cora interrupted and Derek got up to pick up his phone, that was ringing. "You are the first to complain and you  _were_  driving us crazy. Just eat the damn thing, okay?"

Cora was a good diplomatic, Malia used to think. She knew what and how to say things, even though she mostly liked to use the ruder way. It seemed that it was a Hale thing, being brute, and the werecoyote liked to share that pattern with her cousins. The thing was that they were hiding for almost three months. It was warming up and the first spring flowers were trying to blossom; if people touched Malia's belly, they'd feel the baby moving, and her organs were all out of place. She was getting used to have a lot of feelings, especially towards Stiles (sometimes she hated him, sometimes she just sobbed with longing) and most of the time she found excuses to complain and keep herself and the others busy.

Like the bowel thing. Sure it was annoying her and she couldn't go to the bathroom for three days, but she knew it was something her body was supposed to do.  _She just wanted something to do_. Just so she wouldn't keep calling Stiles and so she would forget the last voicemails she had gotten from him.

Derek got back to the table the exact moment Malia put a broccoli in her mouth, chewing with little enthusiasm. There was something in his eyes, though, that caught the girls' attention, something very close to excitement.

"What is it?" Cora asked, her mouth full and there was a bit of a smile in his lips.

"It was Marin." He said and paused, building the drama. "He bit it, Chris made it. Him and Isaac got Peter and they are taking him back to California to try and make him talk."

At the mention of Peter's name, the attention of both girls was completely directed to Derek's words. Cora put down her fork and Malia leaned closer.

"What does that mean?" the werewolf girl asked, curiosity all over her voice.

"It's a long shot, Cora, but we might be able to go back home in a few days. The run can be over very soon."

The siblings looked at Malia waiting for her reaction, but she was motionless, the fork still halfway to her mouth. She could be back home soon. Very soon, and that was quite the news! Her mind was blank with the idea of going back and seeing everyone, seeing  _him_  and her free hand was in her belly, feeling the rush of feelings in her chest reflect into the little person inside of her.

"That's awesome news, don't you think, Mal?" Cora tried, getting worried about the lack of response from her cousin who finally smiled.

"Yeah! That's awesome news indeed!" she said happily, and ate her salad with a new perspective, the voicemail not sounding so terrifying now.

-X-

Message 1 -  _I've known for a couple of weeks now, Mal, but I didn't call sooner because I had to rip the information from Kira and lost my voice in the process. It wasn't fair, you know? But I probably deserve it, because I was too dumb to notice it while you were here, right? … I rewatched that movie we saw together –_ Now you see me _. I remember you said that it made sense, that phrase one of the character's say that you never see it right if you're looking too close… I get it, it was a hint from you and I'm sorry I didn't bite it…_

Message 2 –  _I wanted to call sooner, because I had a lot of things to say. You know? Like a really fucking lot of things to say. They are all still here in my head, but that's the thing about time, it helps you redo your steps before they're even taken, right? And I lost my voice, I think I told you that. Did I tell you how? [laughs] It's funny, I lost it screaming. Like banshee-screaming, Lyds even said I had potential to it. Fucked with my voice cords big time and couldn't say a word for days. I bet Scott was happy with it. Lydia certainly was, she said it all the time. And it was all because of that motherfucking little scan I found in Kira's things._

Message 3 –  _That probably sounded rude, I'm sorry. I just… I'm not mad at the baby, I want to see you, I want to hear your voice and see your face and see that baby bump of yours that it's probably huge by now and I want to be with you, I still love you and that won't change. It's just that you used to be the most honest person I've ever known in my entire life and all that hidden was such a betrayal, Mal. I feel so betrayed, I can't even put it into words._

Message 4 –  _Please, tell me what led us to this point. How did I end up here? Just… fucking give me reasons, so I can live! I don't know how to function anymore because I'm worried and that worry is killing me, Mal,_ _ **it's killing me**_ _._

Message 5 –  _Come home, babe. Please._


	20. It's over too soon

The run ended where it started, inside a circle of mountain ash and a spiral of wolfsbane, a dead werewolf cut in half unable to change back buried near his old home and his relative – his daughter - standing just outside the circle, her round belly shadowing her feet, looking down the body with a frown, as if something doesn't make sense anymore.

"It's not right." Malia said under her breath and two pairs of feet approached. Her cousins, Cora and Derek stood one by each of her sides, all three looking down. Across from them, there was a hunter.

"Something happened and he escaped, but he had enemies everywhere." Chris Argent told them, the worry making his voice even deeper.

"He shouldn't be able to turn into full wolf form, mom always said he couldn't." Derek tried. The three werecreatures in that room seemed to have a hard time catching that wolf's scent and it was just enough to be similar to the men they hated so much, for many the only family they thought they had in different times.

They all were thinking the same thing.

 _It can't be him_.

"When he came across us, he already used the Anubis form." Chris explained. "It was a matter of time until he could completely turn."

"This is against all rules of the supernatural." A voice behind them said and they all turned around, just to face Deaton and Scott. The veterinarian came closer, his human status allowing him to cross the mountain ash with no harm. "Have you uncovered yet?"

The cousins shook their heads, but the hunter had a different answer.

"It's him." Chris assured and the baby inside Malia moved uncomfortable. None of them believed it. It had been too easy, it couldn't be that easy. There was no way that they had spent months on the run just to have her father killed in their own hometown. Just no single way.

"I gotta uncover anyway." Deaton said and Chris nodded. "I have questions, lots of them. I bet we all do."

Without waiting for any orders, he found the point of the wolfsbane and while he was at it, Malia looked at Scott, who gave her a positive nod. She wanted to say something, but there was a familiar scent coming towards them and she'd have time for the others soon.

Turning her back to the wolf, Malia waited to see Stiles approach. He was followed by Lydia, Kira and Isaac and he didn't stop, even when he saw her. So long had passed that there was a numbness between them that was only overclouded by the profound homesickness they felt, that need to be with the other once again.

So she walked towards him, her light, her mate, the only person she truly missed, the only guy she loved and he ran towards her, because it was her and she was there and he waited for  _so long_ , just  _so long_ , it was desperate and maddening and overwhelming and the world stopped when they were only one foot apart, as if they couldn't believe they were there, finally. Finally.

Malia reached out and touched Stiles' cheek, her fingers caressing the lines of his moles and his eyes went down, for that baby bump that was everything he feared and everything waited for, and he reached for it, placing his hand on top of her round belly ever so lightly.

The baby kicked. And behind them, people gasped. When Stiles tried to sneak a peek at what surprised them, Malia finally spoke. She didn't need to look to know.

"It's not him." She said and he looked in her eyes, she realized, for the first time. He let go of a shaky breath and she offered him the smallest of the smiles. "It's not him, but I'm here. I'm not going anywhere anymore."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I KNOW, I'M HORRIBLE! D=
> 
> It's been such a long time, I wonder if anyone stuck around to see how this would end. And damn, didn't I get some nice reviews, even with my massive block? Because I did have a massive block. If you follow my activities, you must have seen that I posted all kinds of fics for different shows, but nothing her. I totally lost my hand here, I know. It took me too long to finish. And it's been what? An year and a half since I started writing it? E. Just TERRIBLE.
> 
> I know, I know. And I can only bame me. I couldn't write. I just couldn't. Perhaps I didn't want this to end. But it did. And I knew for a loooong time that this would be the last chapter, that there was only this one missing, but I kept postponing it.
> 
> Somehow, today, I was able to write it. And it's got a different vibe than what I first imagined, it opens up for new plots, but I'm gonna be honest, I don't thing I will continue it, write a sequel. Even if you ask - nicely or not - it's very unlikely that it'll happen.
> 
> I AM, though, writing a filling-the-gaps fic about season 5A called "The silence of wolves", if you'd like to check out, and I'll post a new fic, probably when 5A ends that will be called "Running from wolves" and it's a bit of an AU/role reversal thing inspired by the third prompt I wrote for the Stalia Week last year and you can find in "Wrapped with a ribbon on it".
> 
> Other than that, all I can do is thank you all for staying and not forgeting and reviewing. All the love and support you sent me, I'll keep it in my heart and will be forever grateful. You have no idea how important it is for me as an author to have this support and the nice words. You guys are awesome! Thank you for the bottom of my heart.
> 
> x


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